Victor to Ten, Hero to One
by WhispersofBliss
Summary: So we know the story of how another girl volunteers for Coraline Emberly's mother at her reaping. But why did she do it? Two shot, maybe more.
1. Chapter 1

It is the day of the reaping once again so many years later. My beautiful teenage daughter help support my weight as I hobble down to the Square with her. She's carrying a basket of cheese and bread and jam and is going to visit the children at the community home after the Reaping. What a kind young lady she turned out to be. I was afraid I was somehow going to ruin her life, coming from my circumstances and all. But everything turned out just fine and she came out a lively and caring young woman.

I was always afraid; the nightmares would never stop coming. They first came after I won the Hunger Games and spent my nights in my new Victor house instead of the shabby little farmhouse I used to share with what's left of my family. They continue to haunt me after all these years.

I knew what was coming, though. I knew it from the day, the moment that I stepped up and shouted out the infamous words "I VOLUNTEER!" for a small girl in the thirteen year old section. Death might come, but compared to the others, death was a blessing. Suffering, agony, emotional damage beyond repair. Why did I endure it all when I didn't have to? And to top that, for a girl I had never spoken to before in my life?

But something snapped in me when her name was called. Marigold Genesis, a pretty and very unique name in my district. One I had heard of before. The few people that knew quiet little Marigold proclaimed her very nice and sweet girl, too innocent to be a part of this world. And her eyes, if you could've seen her eyes the way I did when that horrible Capitol woman shrieked her name. Before, they have been brave little orbs of green and blue blinking away the fear, but then they became two devestated little blobs unsure of their purpose anymore. They were dull beyond the dullest shade of ash when a moment ago they were as bright and as fearless as the sun itself. A flood of tears threatened to spill as that little girl forced her legs to carry her to the stage. And then I saw it. Me. Myself. In her. In a quick flashback, I saw me running after my own sister, calling her name as she forced herself onstage. I was barely a toddler at that time, but my parents passed away and the only woman who took care of us came furiously to yank me back from her. She wouldn't even look at me. She wouldn't even look at anyone, standing up there on that stage being declared a tribute. And that was the last I ever saw of her.

Somewhere, out there, this little girl could be a big sister. She could be a friend. She could maybe someday be a lover. She was just a child now, for sakes. And I felt that connection to my sister. I had lost my sister once, the only companion I had in my life. My only friend. I was not going to let somebody else's sister go through the same thing I did. Even if I risk my past, present, and future. So without further thinking I threw myself at the stage and screamed "I VOLUNTEER!" And that has completely changed my life.

The little girl came before I boarded the train. She thanked me and told her how much I was a hero to not only her but her family. So I did save somebody's daughter. And that felt good. But to pay the price, I had to go into the Hunger Games. That felt worse than knowing your own death date because you basically just have signed the deal for one. But somehow, somehow, I was able to back it back. I think I knew in the back of my mind that I did battle for what I had lost, and I did it again to prevent others from losing what I had lost. That kept me sane. That kept me motivated. But most of all it kept me alive.

Many years later and the little girl has grown into a beautiful young woman. She married a handsome young man and they had six daughters. I married another Victor and we only had one daughter. My beautiful little girl Charity Dusk.

And now, many years after later, it is time once again for the dreaded Reaping.

The Escort is a different woman this time, some woman named Natta. At least she has a brown wig. The Escort when I volunteered had a rainbow wig and big red lips that made her look like a clown. Oh, how I keep forgetting how old I am! Charity sits me down on a comfortable bench and then goes off into the seventeen year old section. I feel a pang of guilt. If I wasn't so old and didn't need so much caring, Charity could have made some friends. Sometimes I feel like I spoil the child too much. But how can I? She is a very sweet girl. Much like Marigold Genesis, the poor thing whose husband's attempted escape caused four of her daughters to be reaped. And none of them made it out alive. At least she still has two lovely girls at home. If I didn't have Charity, I would be alone in the world. I love Charity with all my heart and I want to see her grow up completely.

After the mayor's speech, which of course none of us bothers with, Natta doesn't waste a second. She immediately strides to the reaping ball and pulls out a girl's name. I am praying for poor Marigold that she isn't going to have to give up another one of her daughters this time. And she doesn't. Because the name that Natta reads out is Charity Dusk.


	2. Victory is Sweet

My vision gets fuzzy and there is a weird buzzing noise inside my head. No! I think. It cannot be! There is a sick feeling spreading from my heart down to my old toes and my eyes are immediately wet and misty. This was...unbelievable! Grotesque evil!

Didn't I give everything to them by visiting in the Capitol quite often so my daughter wouldn't get reaped?

Now the tears are falling down and I'm not trying to force them back anymore. I throw back and hang my head in despair, in shame, as I imagine Charity walking up to the stage with all her might. I picture her windblown gold hair, her dark eyes shining with determination and strength, her little fists pale but clenched and at her side. I imagine the light spring in her step gone and her almost stumbling up the stairs. You know I volunteered for another little girl many years ago but this time I am old, a Victor, a mother, and helpless.

I can only watch in dismay as the daughter I have worked so hard to protect and have raised with so much love, being slowly taken away from me. Nothing will ever be the same again. I am old and I have nobody, but that doesn't matter. My Charity is going to hell, and I can't protect her. I can do nothing. I am useless! Charity needs my help! I cannot help her!

I feel like I'm going to have a mental breakdown as the Escort scouts for volunteers. This is humiliating. No one in their right mind will-

"I VOLUNTEER!" A piercing shriek echoes from one side of the square, interrupting all my thoughts. The square is silent once again, and all eyes are on a girl who looks about fifteen, with a frizzy mess of mousy brown hair and quivering, emotional blue green eyes. Charity froze, her mouth hanging open and her pretty eyes nearly bulging out. Our eyes remain upon the mousy girl as she does her best to stumble onstage, almost collapsing at the last second but then managing to get up there. She stares out vacantly, her expression determined not to cry.

I know the sicko Capitol will love this. A volunteer from District 10 is very rare. In fact, no one's done it since I did, and to this day I am not completely sure why I have.

But now I am.

It hits me in the face as I peer more closely at the volunteer. Of course! The almond shape of the eyes, the bridge of the nose coated slightly with pale freckles, the cheekbones and pursed lips. This volunteer is one of the daughters of Marigold Genesis! I catch her eye contact for a second and then I mouth a thank-you with all my heart. She barely nods and then turns back to tell the Escort her name.

Coraline Emberly. Yes, the youngest daughter of Marigold G. Emberly and Courtier Emberly.

I, Morning (nee Glory) Dusk, volunteered for Marigold Genesis twenty six years ago because she reminded me of somebody. Not distinctly, but just a person I had the chance to save, and that I didn't save. I knew that my life would be incomplete, it would be a shadow of what could have been, if I didn't save Marigold Genesis. The haunted look in her eyes, the way she's bravely fighting for her life the moment she walks up there. All so young. All so vague. All so familiar to me.

And then I had the chance to save her, and so I did. And now, twenty-six years later, her youngest daughter has just saved my daughter Charity Dusk from enduring what I had to go through. All because I volunteered for her mother. And this is the Emberly family's thank-you.

I feel my hand reach up and touch my chest. How touched I am! The tears began striking my eyes again and I let them, falling slowly, vastly, freely down my cheeks. Coraline takes one last look at the home she's ever known before she is led into the Justice building by her new captors.

After that, the people quickly began to walk away as if nothing's ever happened. But something did happen. And it has changed my life.

I stay sitting quietly until the square is empty. Well, not completely. A lone figure standing near the stage slowly makes her way to me, taking her time. When she reaches me, the dark eyes scan my face, look into my soul. And I guess from my old, wrinkled expressions that people can barely make out, she has figured out who Coraline Emberly is.

"It was her mother, wasn't it?" says Charity quietly as she comes to sit down next to me. I give her a life-or-death squeeze of a bear hug. "Yes, dear."

Charity lifts her face to look at the sky. And the joy that my daughter brought me has numbed my pain for quite a number of years. The happiness of her being alive, of giving her a life to live has given me something no other thing in life can. I think about what it is like to have four dead daughters and one going into the Hunger Games, placing myself in the place of Marigold. Poor, poor thing. At least she has one daughter left. If I didn't have my Charity I would have no one. I burst swiftly into tears. My daughter hugs me, holds me, comforts me, brushing tears off my wrinkled face.

"You volunteered for her mother, and now she has volunteered for me," said Charity quietly. I nod. By saving someone else, I had saved another as well. It would all play out well if Marigold didn't have to lose another daughter.

And she doesn't have to. I rise slowly, weighing my options carefully. I am a past Victor. I am no mentor anymore, but I can go back into the Capitol. I'll beg the sponsors. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure Coraline Emberly's victory. Marigold has lost so much. She shouldn't have to loose any more precious daughters. I hug Charity close to me, thinking hard.

Sure, I was the one who volunteered first. But even though I volunteered for someone else, I did it to help myself, in a way. I couldn't let another little girl go to her death...again. And now, many years later, it has all came back to me. My daughter is safe. My daughter is spared.

I may be a Victor in District Ten, but Coraline Emberly will always be the number one hero to me.


End file.
